Monday, September 10, 2012

Pilot with Libertyville roots in town for air show

By Russell LissauDaily Herald
Article updated: 9/7/2012 5:47 AM

Libertyville native and Air Force Capt. Russell Campbell talks after flying in his A-10 Thunderbolt II into Waukegan Municipal Airport on Thursday. The plane will be used as a backup for the 2012 Wings Over Waukegan air show on Saturday. (Photo by Steve Lundy, Daily Herald Staff Photographer)Full size

After climbing down from the cockpit of his A-10 Thunderbolt II at Waukegan Regional Airport on Thursday, U.S. Air Force Capt. Russell Campbell had an important question for one of the people waiting near the nose of the giant warplane.

Moments later, when asked if her son is a good pilot, Susan Campbell was quick to brag. "He's got to be the best," she said.

Campbell, a member of the 75th Fighter Squadron stationed at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia, is in town for the annual Wings Over Waukegan air show. It starts at noon Saturday at the airport.

Although he flew to Waukegan in the A-10, Campbell isn't flying in the show. Rather, he'll assist fellow pilot Maj. Dylan Thorpe, and his jet will be used as a backup aircraft if needed.

Campbell, whose unit recently spent three months in Korea, didn't want to miss a chance to return to the North suburbs. Flying to Waukegan from Georgia, he and Thorpe flew low over his family's neighborhood in Libertyville, startling a few onlookers.

A 1995 Libertyville High School graduate who learned to fly in college, Campbell sought to enlist in the Air Force the day after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. He eventually passed the necessary tests and joined the military in 2003.

Campbell loves flying the A-10, a plane called the Warthog because of an ungainly design that includes a pair of engines slung over the wings instead of under. Despite its odd looks, the jet — a ground-attack aircraft essentially built around a 30 mm cannon in its nose — is treasured by pilots and the ground troops it supports.

It's a tough and highly maneuverable plane that gained fame in the first Persian Gulf War and still is flown in the war in Afghanistan.

"It's a thrill to fly it," Campbell said. "It's an honor to fly it."

In addition to the Thunderbolt, the Waukegan air show will feature a variety of military and civilian aircraft. Among the featured groups is a Canadian group of pilots called the Snowbirds, which Campbell compared to the Navy's famed Blue Angels team and the Air Force's Thunderbirds.

"They do a really amazing show," he said.

Campbell's grandmother, Theresa Turner, was among the relatives who greeted the pilot in Waukegan. She said it was "fabulous" to see her grandson fly above the airport before landing the Thunderbolt.

"He loves it," she said. "And it's just exciting to watch him."

Libertyville native and Air Force Capt. Russell Campbell waves to family and friends after landing his A-10 Thunderbolt II at Waukegan Municipal Airport for the 2012 Wings of Waukegan air show Saturday. (Photo by Steve Lundy, Daily Herald Staff Photographer)Full size

U.S. Air Force Capt. Russell Campbell, a 1995 Libertyville High School graduate, will fly his A-10 Thunderbolt II to the Wings Over Waukegan air show on Saturday, Sept. 8. (Submitted photo)

LIBERTYVILLE ­— Russell Campbell can't wait to fly his A-10 Thunderbolt II home this week for the air show in Waukegan on Saturday.

It's the first time family and friends in Libertyville will see Campbell, an active-duty U.S. Air Force pilot, with the plane he flies and get a chance to check it out for themselves, maybe even sit inside.

The 1995 Libertyville High School graduate will fly in tandem with a second A-10 Thunderbolt II from Moody Air Force Base in Valdosta, Ga., arriving in Waukegan on Sept. 6.

Campbell, a U.S. Air Force captain, thinks those who attend Wings Over Waukegan 2012 will like what they see.

"It's a pretty awesome airplane," he said.

The single-seat, twin-engine, straight-wing jet has the shark face surrounding a large gun characteristic of the historic Flying Tigers squadron, made famous in the 1942 John Wayne movie of the same name.

Campbell, a graduate of Southern Illinois University's aviation program, was deployed to Afghanistan in the aircraft he will fly in to Waukegan and recently returned from flying missions in South Korea.

He is a member of the historic 23rd Fighting Group.

A fourth-generation Libertyville resident, Campbell first became interested in airplanes as a child.

"I guess I'm kind of an airplane nut," he said. "My dad started taking me when I was 4 years old. That's probably what got me hooked on aviation."

The son of Sue Campbell of Libertyville and Ray Campbell of Lindenhurst intends to spread his love of aviation to the community where he grew up and still has close ties.

"I'm looking forward to coming home and showing off what I do to my family and friends and connecting with the community," he said.

Campbell believes air shows, like the Waukegan event Saturday, are a good opportunity to show people what aviation is all about.

"People get to come see airplanes, sit in them, look at them and talk to pilots," Campbell said. "It's going to be a pretty big deal." [...]

Dedicated in Love

This blog is dedicated to Marina Naumann, my latest female partner who died after incurable pancreas cancer on June 17, 2010, just only a half year after diagnosis. Marina was the second true wife in my life, and she always supported my long-year enthusiastic research work on the Hog, especially since the beginning of operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Rest in peace, Marina.